Copyright yardbarker
The Dallas Cowboys are 3-4-1 through eight weeks of the 2025 NFL season. That's not good enough, but you know what the worst part is? Their record feels too good for what they actually are.That's because the Cowboys defense is the worst in the NFL. According to RBSDM, the Cowboys defense ranks 30th or worse in each of the following categories: overall EPA/play, dropback EPA/play, dropback success rate, rush EPA/play, and rush success rate. If you prefer traditional stats, take my word for it, they're equally bad. And in situational football? They boast the league's worst third down defense and the fifth-worst red zone unit. They bend and they break. That's why head coach Brian Schottenheimer talked making changes on Monday following a 44-24 loss to the Denver Broncos. It was the sixth game of the season in which Dallas has allowed 30+ points from the opponent. “There will be changes, I can promise you that, I can assure of that," Schottenheimer told reporters. "We've already had some of those meetings and we've talked about those changes. We're in the mode right now of — we got kind of a one-game season. And I just say that because we got (the Arizona Cardinals) before the bye, and then really your bigger changes are going to happen over the bye week." Schottenheimer is right about bigger changes happening at the bye week due to the time constraints of a season. But the reality is the Cowboys need changes before their week off because Dallas has little to no margin for error. If they want to aspire to shocking the NFL world with a playoff berth, they shouldn't risk taking on the Cardinals by keeping the status quo. And his own comments reflect it. "No one is pleased," Schottenheimer added. "No one is happy with the way we performed yesterday. It's not acceptable. It's not good enough, and that starts with me. And so I would say that both the staff and the players are aware of that. The standard was not met." So if the Cowboys are making changes, where should Schottenheimer start? Fans would likely point to defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and ask for him to be fired. And while I think it's worth considering after his struggles manufacturing pressure and stops—or anything else for that matter—it doesn't sound like Dallas is turning the page on any coach. So I would point toward the defensive personnel first. These Cowboys aren't playing at a starting level Cornerback Kaiir Elam, middle linebacker Kenneth Murray, and nose tackle Mazi Smith shouldn't be on the field at this point. The film shows each of them struggling week in and week out. In the same play, R.J. Harvey's 40-yard touchdown run, you can see the perfect example of why. Smith fails to get his hands on the Broncos left guard, who easily climbs to Kenneth Murray. In turn, Murray simply refuses to take the block with any sort of physicality and instead continues to move backward. It's a tough spot to be in for a linebacker, but there are several instances where Murray fails to make a play on tough blocks. Meanwhile, Kaiir Elam struggles to get off his block and when he does, he fails to make a tackle on Harvey. In other reps, Elam consistently takes wrong steps and takes himself out of the play by going in the wrong direction.
